KZN man sentenced to life for raping granddaughter

Police say the man repeatedly raped the victim from 2014, when she was 12 years old, to 2017.

The Esikhaleni Regional Court in Kwazulu-Natal on Monday sentenced a 53-year-old man to life behind bars for raping his granddaughter.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said the child was raped repeatedly for three years from July 2014. The first time he raped her, she was 12 years old and was at her grandfather’s homestead in the Inyembe Reserve in Port Dunford.

Her grandmother was at work at the time.

“The accused threatened to kill the victim and her brother if she reported the incident to anyone. The accused continued to repeatedly rape the victim from 2014 to 2017 until the victim then reported the matter to her teacher. A case of rape was reported at Esikhaleni SAPS and the docket was transferred to Empangeni Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences Unit for further investigation.”

Zwane said the court hoped the lengthy sentence would send a message to would-be perpetrators.

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